Encyclopedia of Jazz Musicians

Bridgewater, Dee Dee (Denise Eileen Garrett)

Bridgewater, Dee Dee [Denise Eileen Garrett], singer; b. Memphis, TN, 27 May 1950. She was raised in Flint, MI. Her mother is Marion Hale Hudspeth (Born: Marion Hale Holiday) born Flint, MI, February 6, 1927 married to (and since divorced from) father: Matthew Garrett (former trumpeter) born Newport, KY. He taught at Manassas High School in Memphis, TN, and is currently still an Educator. He was a trumpeter who taught music to Booker Little, Charles Lloyd and George Coleman, among others. Her stepfather, Shed Hudspeth, raised Dee Dee from adolescence onward. He was deceased January 1, 2000. Her siblings are Rhonda Garrett (Maiden Name), married name Rhonda Whiters, and Damon Garrett.

She attended the University of Michigan. Her influences include Ella Fitzgerald, Sarah Vaughan, Billie Holiday, Tina Turner and others. She appeared solo and with a trio as a teenager. She toured the Soviet Union in 1969 with the University of Illinois Big Band. A year later, she followed her new husband, Cecil Bridgewater, to New York (they divorced in the mid-70s). She made her New York debut in 1970 as the vocalist for the Thad Jones/Mel Lewis band (Cecil was also a member). She also performed with Horace Silver, Ray Brown, Sonny Rollins, Dizzy Gillespie, Dexter Gordon, Max Roach, Roland Kirk, Norman Connors, Stanley Clarke, Frank Foster's "Loud Minority," Roy Ayers, and others.

Since 1999 she is the United Nations Ambassador to the Food and Agriculture Organization (F.A.O.). She has lived in France since 1986.

Her first husband was trumpet player Cecil Vernon Bridgewater. They had a child, Tulani Adenike Bridgewater, born August 11, 1972. Her second husband was Gilbert Moses (film & theatre director). They had a child, China Nicole Moses, born January 9, 1978 and a stepdaughter Tsia T. Moses. Her current husband is Jean-Marie Durand (Personal Manager & Producer). Their child Gabriel Morgan Durand was born January 25, 1992.